R Balasubramanian

The Government Museum, Chennai holds a very significant collection of sculptures, in particular the sculptures from the Buddhist site of Amaravati. I took up the Fellowship in November 2000 in order to see the collection of Amaravati sculptures in the British Museum and to learn about display and conservation techniques. I learned from the British Museum how they had refurbished the Hotung and Asahi Shimbun galleries. The British Museum has conserved all the Amaravati sculptures and then mounted them on steel frames supported by treated rubber cushions. The Asahi Shimbun Gallery where the Amaravati sculptures are displayed is air conditioned with temperature and relative humidity controls. This has really enhanced the life of the sculptures. This experience is very useful for planning the galleries in Chennai - with the detailed plans kindly provided by the British Museum - and the report produced from the visit with three dimensional images, very useful for teaching other people.